The
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is planning an assault on salt. The
government intends to set regulations to limit the use of salt intake
by Americans. The regulations would set "legal limits on the amount
of salt allowed in food products."

Of
course, the excuse is "protection" of the health of the American
people. Say the feds, limiting salt would prevent thousands of deaths
from hypertension and heart disease.

In
a complicated process, the FDA would analyze the salt in spaghetti sauces,
breads, and thousands of other products that make up the $600 billion
food and beverage market.

The
main culprits behind the effort to have the FDA regulate salt is the
Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), which has led a fight
against salt for 30 years. CSPI wants the FDA to revoke salt's GRAS
statue (Generally Recognized As Safe).

CSPI
is the undisputed leader among the food police. It has launched an all
out campaign against the eating habits of Americans, attacking Italian,
Chinese, fast foods, soft drinks, French fries, extra cheese pizza,
and almost anything else that tastes good. You might guess that Michael
Jacobson, the head of CSPI, is a rabid Vegetarian, horrified by nearly
anything man chooses to eat.

CSPI
calls for taxes on foods with fat, sugar, and sodium (called the "Twinkie
Tax"). They want government-mandated warning labels on high-fat,
high-calorie menu items. They advocate that broadcasters be required
to give free "equal time" to government-advertisements of
"healthy" foods every time Burger King runs an ad. They want
warning labels of contamination from fresh, unpasteurized juices. And
they constantly threaten restaurants with legal action over nutritional
labeling. CSPI opposed consumption of animals (no meat or fish) and
all of their byproducts, including cheese, milk, and ice cream. They
oppose any consumption of alcohol, calling for hefty increases in beer
taxes, even restrictions on adults, and poster size warning labels in
restaurants. All of that action, of course, serves only to drive up
the cost of food while robbing Americans of a freedom to choose what
they eat.

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CSPI
has attacked nearly every food product on Earth, begging the question,
"What's left to eat." Jacobsen suggests a sandwich of lettuce
and bread - but be careful, because the bread has salt in it and the
lettuce may have been sprayed with chemicals. In fact, he advises a
near starvation diet of not much more than potatoes and carrots (don't
over indulge in them). And he says, the American public cannot be trusted
to make their own choices, so he must do it for them.

Now
salt has become the main target in CSPI's war against eating. And it
has bombarded the FDA relentlessly with demands to revoke salt's GRAS,
to the point it is now moving to invoke government-mandated blandness,
controlling our ability to decide if we like our food a little more
tasty or not.

Like
Obama's health care mess, the attacks against salt use and its imagined
dangers are both wrong and unpopular. According to scientific research,
something rarely used in CSPI's attacks, salt is not a danger. Research
from UC-Davis last fall found that "our bodies naturally regulate
the amount of salt we take in," making government intervention
pointless. In recent Rasmussen survey, just 33% of Americans think the
government should set limits on salt we can eat. 55% say NO. The Wall
Street Journal said meddling in salt is "an illegitimate form of
government intervention" parading as paternalism "run amok."

What
will result, if the FDA takes away salt's GRAS status, is a rampage
of law suits by the food police. Whole industries will be destroyed.
The government will set regulations for how much salt we can use in
everything we eat. And so the American people will be even less free
to decide for themselves.

There
is one more point that must be considered in why the government is moving
now to control salt. Obamacare. Now that the government has appointed
itself as our caregiver, it has to watch the bottom line on expenses.
Remember when members of congress denied as absurd, charges that Obamacare
would lead to rationing? Well, this is how it will be done.

If
they believe salt causes health problems, then it must be stopped -
to cut costs and protect the people. That, of course, is the reason
the government enforced seat belt laws - because people getting hurt
in accidents cost government money for rescue services, 911 operators
and emergency room services. Since government foots the bill for that
in the name of the taxpayers, you have to toe the line and buckle up.
It's the same with salt bans.

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So,
will the government send agents to confiscate the salt shakers? Will
we have to send in an application for permission to salt our pop corn?
Or will we call the FDA in mass and say "get the hell out of my
life!" You better decide quickly, before we can't even work in
the salt mines to survive the ravages of Big Brother.